Don’t leave Tahmooressi behind, Mr. President

President Barack Obama and all American leaders routinely speak of the enormous debt we owe our veterans. This is appropriate and welcome. The men and women who volunteer to serve in our armed forces do so at enormous risk — and, often, sacrifice.

Some are killed or maimed. Some leave the military and return to civilian life with wounds that are less visible, dealing with the terrible effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

One such Marine veteran is Andrew Tahmooressi, who served two tours in Afghanistan. He is now languishing in a Mexican prison outside Tecate, mired in legal proceedings that are expected to take months and could end with him facing a jail sentence of up to 21 years.

This must change. Tahmooressi must be allowed to come home.

There’s no question that the 25-year-old Florida native made a terrible mistake on March 31 when he entered Mexico after he said he was unable to make a U-turn at the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana. Mexican authorities found three loaded firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle, which his family said was packed with all his possessions.

These same authorities question Tahmooressi’s account of his actions and point to deceptive statements he made after his arrest. But a spokesman for Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, has provided email evidence that Tahmooressi was following a “script” recommended by his first Tijuana attorney.

And where is Tahmooressi’s criminal intent? If Mexican authorities have evidence he intended to traffic in weapons, they have yet to produce it.

This is one of the many reasons that so many veterans groups are closely following this case. It also helps explain why more than 134,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the White House seek his release, and why Hunter and other members of Congress have implored the Obama administration to do much more to help him.

But the main reason so many people want Tahmooressi helped is because he is an American whom fellow Marines say served with valor and courage in Afghanistan.

The U.S. State Department insists that it has repeatedly tried to intervene with Mexican authorities on Tahmooressi’s behalf. One senior official even spoke of receiving “excellent cooperation” from these authorities in getting access to him in prison.

But such Mexican cooperation is not the kind that is needed. Tahmooressi should be freed and returned to America to get the medical treatment he came to San Diego for in the first place.

Since the State Department can’t seem to get this done, it’s time for the White House to step up. We call on President Obama to directly intervene with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in seeking Andrew Tahmooressi’s release. This is a Marine who must not be left behind.